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The Western Front Today - Hawthorn Crater, Somme

Hawthorn Crater was one of the 17 mines
that were exploded by the British on the morning of 1 July 1916 to signal the start of the
Somme offensive. It is one of the few remaining craters (along with,
notably, Lochnagar), however its chief claim to fame is two-fold.

Firstly,
the Hawthorn Crater was the first to be blown that day, at 0720 - eight
minutes before any of the remaining 16; and secondly because the explosion
itself was actually captured on film.

The mine took seven months to lay, being 75ft deep and
1,000ft long. It was prepared with a 40,600lb ammonal charge by 252nd
Tunnelling Company. The resultant crater was 40ft deep and 300ft wide.

Today it forms a figure of eight, the result of a subsequent British mine
explosion (with a 30,000lb ammonal charge) under a German fortification in
November 1916.

The
1 July 1916 mine explosion was captured on film by
Geoffrey Malins for the
highly successful officially approved film 'The Battle of the Somme'.